Extreme is an understatement
by SummerTam
Summary: The crew of serenity make a discovery that has Mal and Zoe on edge. The crew decided to see how far this discovery would lead them... Did the crew finally bite off more than they could chew? M for later chapies
1. Chapter 1

A weird sort of awareness crept over Summer as she lay there floating

A weird sort of awareness crept over Summer as she lay there floating. This awareness was like waking from some long sleep to which you were never prepared. Summer could never describe the feeling to which she now felt, this feeling of purpose, this feeling of sorrow, this feeling of excitement. As Summer pushed these thoughts around in her mind, she realized that they were separate feeling, felt by three different individuals. She felt them, knew them, were them. Blackness encompassed her devouring what she had just felt and the thoughts that she may have gained.

As the three of them moved slowly down the halls of the abandoned and wrecked ship that they now searched, Mal seemed to get more agitated by the second. Mal felt something reach to him as if from out of the blackness someone wanted him to come to them. A sense of unfamiliar resolve entered Mal.

"Mal!"

Mal touched the side of his helmet pushing the button for the com.

"What's the problem? We got company?"

Rivers voice came back as a hushed raspy whisper "Mal. You're not alone."

"What do you mean we're not alone?" Mal asked thoroughly confused.

"Up ahead the fourth door on your right. Someone's in there."

"Who's in there River?"

"Her!" River said I a voice barely above a whisper.

"River. Who is she?"

"MS18-E154"

"What do you suggest we do?"

Mal floated in place waiting for a response from River. None Came.

"River what should we do?"

"Save Her."

Mal couldn't think of who could get River this scared, but he knew one thing, if River was scared then they all had reason too be.

He proceeded down the hall cautiously, trying to be certain there were no dangers. He counted the doors as he went past them. Four… three…two…one… This was the door. He took a deep breath before sliding open the door.

There In the far corner of the room floated a single space suit. The suit was old and very outdated but it seemed to have held up. As the front spun into view Mal was able to get a look at her face. A single strand of jet black hair crossed her face, just above her left eye. Her skin was pale, almost to the point of being white. On the glass could still be seen a fresh mist from a recent breath. As if the suit was just put on and she had taken her first breath. This didn't make Mal feel any more at ease; in fact it made him feel like he was walkin' into some kind of trap.

"Captain." It was Zoe's voice this time "We've recovered the cargo."

"Ok. After you get it out and on the line Jayne come give me a hand."

" Ok cap." Came Jayne's booming response

Mal didn't like this one bit. The girl was obviously using an old alliance suit but what he didn't understand is why the alliance hadn't given her a newer and more reliable suit. Nothing about this seemed right and he didn't like that. River was gunna have a lot of explaining to do.

Summer woke with a start as she now lay tied to a gurney. As she looked around she saw that she was in an infirmary. She struggled with the straps that bound her to the bed. She could feel the straps bite into her arms as she struggled. Everything seemed to spin as she began to feel lightheaded.

"Your not goin' anywhere little one."

Summer leaned foreword to see a large man leaning against the frame of the door. The man's long face and unkempt facial hair told her that he was someone lower on the social scale. The shirt he wore was an earthy brown, and his pants were a very light blue jean material. His boots were those commonly bought for hiking or other heavy use.

"Who are you and why are you holding me like this?" she yelled at him

"Well, that's a very nice way to say thanks or rescuin' your behind."

"What are you talking about? I was on a cruiser en route to Hera."

"Sorry little one but your ship's nothing but a space wreck now."

"You lie! My ship was the finest alliance cruiser to grace the verse!"

"Miss that hunk o' junk we found you in was older then you."

"The Aeronaut is not old or a hunk of junk! It's a top secret prototype!"

"Calm down a sec. I'll be back." the man said as he walked off to the left and up some stairs.

Summer laid back as her annoyance began to blur her thoughts. She was thoroughly incensed with this whole situation and nothing made sense. She couldn't remember what had happened before the black out. The last thing she remembered was…. The pursuit, the alliance cruisers had taken off after her. She then remembered them firing at the ship but not even coming close. She remembered throwing the thrusters into full… Then everything went black.

"Hey there! How you feeling?" said a familiar voice

Summer leaned forward and looked at the doorway to see her commander. Captain Malcolm Reynolds!

"Captain Reynolds!" she said highly excited

"Do I know you?" the captain asked

"Private First Class Summer Bannon reporting for duty sir"

Mal Almost jumped out of his skin. Was it really Summer? How had she survived all this time and still look so young. She had been sent on a mission by high command and had disappeared. Wait, Bannon? She didn't look like Bannon.

"What kind of trick you trying to pull lady?"

"No trick sir. I'm private first class Summer Bannon of the 96th infantry."

" You can't be. Summer Bannon was declared MIA eleven years ago after thorough search of the area where her mission might have taken her."

"That's impossible I was assigned to capture the Aeronaut on August 13th!"

"What year we talking 'bout? The date today is December third, twenty-five eighteen."

"No! That can't be right!" As she yelled the lights flickered as her consciousness flashed outwards then flickered out.


	2. Chapter 2

Mal sat in his bunk thinking hard on what had happened mere hours before. He couldn't understand why but he found himself in a sense of inner conflict unlike anything he had ever faced. His mind told him not to believe her but his heart told him she was really Summer. Something about her screamed Summer. His surrogate daughter always haunted him. It was the loss of Summer that had pushed Mal to the brink and had almost pushed him over the edge. The defeat at Serenity Valley and the announcement of Summer's death were almost too much to take.

Mal stood up and climbed out of his bunk. Walking always seemed to make things better for Mal. It at least was able to help settle his nerves and help him think. Wandering the ship while the others slept was not one of Mal's usual behaviors but Mal couldn't sleep. Mal couldn't even think.

As he walked he found his thoughts getting more intelligent and his head becoming clearer. It always seemed to help. Just like on the trip to Mr. Universe after Miranda. He was a changed man then. No longer was he the man that Summer had left him as. No. Mal was a man with a purpose, a meaning, a family.

Mal found himself at the window to the infirmary staring at her. She looked so much different then he remembered her. Her face was thinner, her nose was normal, and her right ear was still there. Summer had taken several wounds during the war. Though she had saved their lives more times than any one could ever count. As Mal stood there running things through his head he found his memory of their first encounter playing before him.

Mal stood in the command tent listening to the higher-ups discussing strategy, discussing their defeat. The alliance had them hard pressed and a battalion of purple bellies were progressing towards their right flank. They were wearing our troops so thin that more men were taken to the loon then the morgue.

"General. With your permission I'll rush the south lines, where the alliance troops are reportedly wearing thin. This should allow us to move about half our southern troops to take up the north eastern line to prevent the alliance from flanking our position."

Mal remembered looking in the direction from which the voice came and seeing her for the first time. She was a muscular girl, who couldn't be more than fifteen. Her nose was noticeably broken and her right ear was missing. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that stretched to her lower back. She wore a pair of worn camo pants, an open brown shirt, white undershirt, and regulation army boots. The outfit was hardly standard issue.

"What is your name and rank soldier?" ordered the harsh growl of General Mathis as he marched over to her.

"Private First Class Summer Bannon of the 96th infantry sir!" she called proudly

"Ah so you're the Bannon girl." He glowered at her

"Sir! Yes Sir!"

"Reynolds!" he called to Mal without turning his gaze from the girl "Do you think you could get a small squad together and move half the southern line to the right flank within the next hour?"

"Sir?" Mal pleaded not wanting to put this girl in a situation that this plan called for.

"Captain. Can you do it or should I get someone else to do the job?" He barked as he turned his glare to Mal

"Sir. I can have a squad ready in 20." Mal confirmed as he stared at the girl he was sure was committing suicide.

"Then you both are dismissed to coordinate the movement." He said as he turned and walked back to the center table where the others were sitting thoroughly as shocked by this exchange as Mal was. "Oh, and Mal, Make the movement fast and precise. I don't want her being over there too long. We will need her able to fight again soon."

Mal's memory jumped to when he and Summer met up before her charge on the enemy line. She stood in her same outfit but had added two swords to her belt. On her face a clear look of determination could be seen. She looked so confident and in a strange way so scary. Mal knew that she would be someone who he would never want to fight against. Something about her screamed killer.

"Do you know the area your to be clearing?" she said as she looked into Mal's face for the first time.

"Me and mine'll have those troops out of there before you it, but I wonder. Are you gunna last long enough to even see their faces, let alone keep 'em busy long enough for us to get the troops and supplies moved?" He had retorted wryly.

"You worry about your job and I'll kill as many as I can before you call me back." She laughed "Remember to half mast the flag for 30 seconds when you're through."

"Will do mam!" Mal guffawed as he laughingly saluted and walked off.

She had done her job and had done it well. Mal had earned a profound respect for her and they had often come to rely on each other for companionship. After much time and many battles went by they had created a bond that neither of them had ever experienced. As time went on Mal had come to see her as the daughter that he never knew he wanted. She became his friend, his family, his reason to push forward.

Her death had been the one thing that had taken the greatest toll on him. The only thing that kept him from insanity was the memory of her. He wanted to be there to live a life that she never would ever be able to live. He would do what ever he could to one day be able to fulfill her goal. He would end the Alliance. He would do it all for her.

"Cap?" called the hushed and familiar voice of his first mate.

Mal turned to see Zoe walking down the stairs toward him. She was the sole surviving member of his battalion that fought along side him at Serenity Valley. She was his most trusted friend, first mate, and the closest thing he had to family. Or was that one of the closest now? Mal's wracked his brain for an answer temporarily forgetting Zoe's approach.

"Cap. You ok?" Zoe asked concerned

"Yea Zoe I'm fine." Mal said as he turned to once again look at the girl that still lay strapped to the gurney in the room in front of him.

"Sir, forgive me for sayin' so, but since we found that girl you've been acting… Well unusual. The crews worried sir." She said laying a hand on his shoulder "Mal. I'm worried. I've never seen you like this. What is it about this girl that has you spooked sir?"

"Zoe." Mal sighed as he turned to look at her "She was like my daughter. I thought she was dead. Maybe she is, but just how she talks, how she looks at me, and the look in her eyes… They all scream it's me! It's Summer! I don't know what to think. I don't know what to do."

"Mal here's what you should do…"


End file.
